1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to license setting for an application operating on an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional systems, specific applications are widely installed in an image forming apparatus such as a digital multifunction peripheral (MFP) placed in an office, to provide various services. When installing an application in an image forming apparatus, identification of a model of an operable image forming apparatus, valid license code input processing, and activation processing are required to prevent unauthorized operations.
There has been proposed a method for storing data including a license code in the image forming apparatus and after that performing the following license authentication.    (a) Display a license input screen on an input screen of the image forming apparatus, and prompt a user to input a license code.    (b) Transmit data stored in the image forming apparatus to an external server, have the external server determine the validity of the data, and validate the data based on a response therefrom (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-186376).
However, when a method for inputting a license code from an operation unit of the image forming apparatus is employed, it is necessary to activate the image forming apparatus and input a license code from the operation unit. Depending on the image forming apparatus, it is necessary to turn OFF the power of the image forming apparatus and then turn ON again to activate a program. There has been a problem that license setting takes time in a case where the image forming apparatus needs to be reactivated repeatedly, for example, if a license code is incorrectly input or if there are many licenses to be set when the image forming apparatus is initially installed.
When a method for connecting with an external server via a network and inputting a license code to the image forming apparatus is employed, there is a problem that license code input is not possible unless a network for connecting the image forming apparatus with the external server is established.